New House Purchase: Carrera Marble Washstand

Do you remember my post awhile back about finding a vanity just like this one for a steal (the one above is from Restoration Hardware)? And how my husband wasn't thrilled about the style? And then I was all heartbroken and what not? Well, good news! After searching high and low for something else we liked M finally came around and decided he liked this washstand (which he's dubbed The Spider) after all. My faith in my superior powers of persuasion has been restored!

So yesterday we went to buy it and...guess what? It was even cheaper than the first time I looked at it. This never happens to me. Obviously this washstand and I were meant to be. Now I just have to decide on what fixtures to put with it and whether or not I want to change out the builder tile. I'm not 100% on doing that yet. I'd like to but there are definitely more important house things to spend money on first.

Due to exposed pipes M says he'll be installing
a finishing valve like this one from Dahl.

Same with wallpaper. I'm planning on wallpapering our powder room and because it's a small space it will be relatively affordable if I'm good and pick relatively affordable wallpaper, but I may just paint it for now and do wallpaper down the road. I guess we'll just have to see where we're at when the time comes.
Oh, and I'll need to buy a toilet paper holder, garbage can, mirror and light fixture. How is it my lists just keep getting longer?! There is the issue of lack of storage with this vanity, but I'm not too concerned as it is just for a powder room and I can always put a basket or something underneath if I feel the need.

Anyway, I'm just glad that the powder room vanity can now be crossed off our house To Do list! We had a pretty productive weekend in terms of furniture too, I think we've narrowed down our couch ideas and found some great contenders for a table. Oh, and yesterday I went to try Five Guys Burgers. I've heard a lot about them and decided I wanted to see what the buzz was about. When I got there the line was out the door. My verdict? Burger was definitely good, fries were meh, I doubt I would wait in that line up again. Have you tried Five Guys? What did you think?

Pizza Al Metro

If you're looking for some good Italian food and nice ambiance north of the city then you should definitely check out the recently opened Pizza Al Metro. I don't think I've ever posted about this place, but I after I went again on Friday I decided it with high time. When we arrived the place was packed with people enjoying a good meal and we got a private room that was nice and cozy (there are several of different sizes you can book for a special occassion or if you just want a bit more privacy.)

An Example of Pizza Al Metro

As always I'm a bad blogger and didn't bring along a camera, but I've relied on some photos found on the web to help me illustrate this story. The pizza al metro concept is pretty popular in Europe but I haven't seen it much on this side of the ocean. Basically you get a metre of pizza that can serve up to four or five and you can section it into a couple different types of pizza so everyone can sample a bit of each.

Aside from this pizza specialty the restaurant also offers personal-sized pizzas, meat dishes cooked over open flame and some great appetizers. Although torn I decided to go with the rice balls and was not at all disappointed. Even though I prefer mine without peas these were really, really good. For my main I went with the Doppia Facce, half a Margherita pizza and half a calzone stuffed with soft ricotta. Delicious, but unfortunately I could only get about half way through it and then M ate the rest. Two thumbs up from his side of the table.

Our table then ordered some Speducci but I could only manage to try a bite (they were very tasty). I was so full I had to forgo the Nutella pizza dessert on the menu and opt for two espressos instead. All in all a delicious night!  What did you do this weekend?



Images 1, 3, 4 via

Winner of the Sarah Tucker Photography Giveaway!

Spice Route

How is everyone? I hope you're all enjoying your weekend. Today we're headed BBQ shopping (we have yet to pick table, chairs, or couch, but my husband obviously has his priorities in order) and then later on we're meeting friends at Spice Route for some yummy Sunday goodness. What does everyone else have planned for the day? One lucky reader's Sunday will include choosing the Sarah Tucker Photography print she'd like to take home. The winner is...

Stephanie at The-Loudmouth

Congrats Stephanie! Please email me your

shipping info and the print you've chosen.

Galleria, Milano by Sarah Tucker Photography

Thanks so much to everyone who entered and to Sarah,

who so generously offered up one of her pieces to give away!

17 Steps & A New Artist Discovery

One of my great pleasures in life is trying out new restaurants while M has a habit of wanting to go back to those tried and true places. I guess it's good for me he's the loyal sort. This Saturday I was happy to get the chance to check out a new one. 17 Steps is a rustic and charming Mediterranean restaurant tucked underground (hence the 17 steps) in Bloor West. Not only are the owners and everyone who works there charming, gracious and inviting but the food is pretty great, too.

To start we had flatbread with a selection of dips and spankopita, and for my main I had the yummy bacon-wrapped beef tenderloin with some to-die-for truffle frites. We usually skip dessert, but we went in for the Greek nut cake (served warm) and weren't disappointed. I found that, price wise, it's also a really great value. You can read some more reviews here.

During dinner I found myself admiring some of the colourful artwork on the walls only to find out they were the work of Cynthia van Leeuwen, who I also had the pleasure of meeting that night.

Cynthia was very friendly and lovely, someone with a true passion for her art. What did you do this weekend?

Eating Well, the Home Show and Two Winners!

Hope everyone's weekend has been going well. Mine has been pretty much non-stop. Today M and I hit the Toronto Home Show (thanks to Shannon for passing on the tickets!) where I checked out stone options for the fireplace in the new house and saw a front door that I just fell in love with. Afterwards we did a bit of shopping and then, famished, headed into La Bettola di Terroni for an early dinner. From what I can tell Terroni restaurants seem to be a divisive issue for Torontonians, despite always being full. Most seem to agree that the Toronto Terroni locations serve delicious, rustic-style Italian food (they're famous for their pizzas), but a lot of people can't stand that the restaurants have a no-substitution rule. Me? I could care less. I know if I want balsamic vinegar to go with my olive oil bread dip not to head to Terroni. And while I've heard that some have been refused even pepperoncini oil we never have been (it's one of M's must-haves) and tonight were even offered it by a charming Brit waiter. The only thing I can't stand is that this is yet another no-reservation restaurant. 



While I had been to the other Terronis I had never tried La Bettola on Victoria, located right beside Terroni's Osteria Ciceri e Tria, and overall was happy with it. The concept is supposed to be a "hole in the wall" neighbourhood type place with good wine and better food. One of the first things I noticed when walking in was the cured meats hanging by the doorway, the communal table stretching the length of the room (later occupied by a smiling bride complete with veil) and the big block letters on the far right wall that read, "Il vino scioglie la lingua ed apre il cuore" which means "wine loosens the tongue and opens the heart."

My pizza (La Bufalina, as always) was great and M loved his pasta special (spaghetti with truffles, sausage and pecorino) and Caprese salad. I think my fave part were the fritti (fried) dishes on the menu. For a minute there I was considering ordering all of them and being done with it. They had two of my faves Arancini (rice balls) and Crochette, and I went with the former because the Crochette had mortadella in them. I much prefer them without meat and I can't really stomach mortadella these days after OD'ing on the stuff when I was a kid. We hardly ever get dessert, but I let M eat half my pizza so I could eat the Frittelle di Nutella (I mean, really, did you really expect me to pass it up?) Unfortunately, while good, they didn't live up to my expectations. I'll take a bombe any day of the week. I also got to check out the new location of Grazie--no weekend reservations here either, I think someone is trying to push me over the edge--where the best part of a good meal was the Baked Goat Cheese Salad (pizza was also good as were the gnocchi, which they did for us in a vodka sauce). So, enough about food and on to the winners!

The Winner of the Lemel Designs Necklace is

 Sarah of Haute Design

Visit Lemel Designs on Facebook and check

out more of their great jewelery here.

The Winner of the Erica Eriksdotter Stationary is

Shari of Little Blue Deer

Learn more about Erica here. Like what you see?

Check out her Etsy shop, too.

Congrats to the winners (please email me your shipping info) and thanks so much to the very generous and talented Melanie of Lemel Designs and Erica Eriksdotter for sponsoring these fab giveaways. Don't forget to enter for your chance to win a $100 Shopbop Gift Card! Hope you enjoy what's left of the weekend, darlings.

Images: Toronto Star, Compendium Daily, BlogTO

Weekend Eats, Appliances and a Winner!

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! Mine was great, although busy as usual. My birthday festivities continued with dinner and drinks with some great friends on Saturday night. We ate at Buca on King West, located in the same alley as Cheval. Buca has a very cool subterranean design, all exposed brick, distressed heritage tables and low lighting. The menu is extensive and is supposed to change daily, but I understand that many of the mainstay items remain the same. We were five couples so a lot of food was ordered and shared (and I really need to get better at bringing my camera so I can take photos of all the dishes).

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I had a three cheese tasting platter with preserves (very good mozzarella di bufala, ricotta di bufala and parmeggiano reggiano) and tiny garlic knots (don't try to eat with a fork and knife) to start and then the pizza with mozzarella di buffalo and prosciutto. The pizza was good, but not the best I've had in the city, and I ended up picking all the prosciutto off. I had bites of some of the other stuff and thought the ravioli with peas and gnocchi were both good. Lots of raves at the table for the sausage stuffed olives as well, although I'm not a fan of olives so I can't vouch for myself. Overall I thought Buca had a really great atmosphere and good food, but not the best around.

I'm also super happy to report that M and I finally decided on appliances for our new home yesterday. I've been kind of stressing because there are so many different options to choose from and I didn't want to make the wrong choice. I also wanted good, quality appliances that didn't break the bank. So the search was on and I'm pretty happy with what we came up with.

We debated getting a cooktop of built in ovens, but decided to go with the range instead. I really like the one we chose, although I was kind of into the idea of having a double oven. I'm also pleased with the size of the fridge and freezer. The only drawback is that there's no water dispenser, which I've been finding is typical in these types of industrial styles. We also went with an LG SteamWasher and Dryer, a Bosch dishwasher and a stainless steel range hood. I'm hoping we made good choices and can't wait to see them when our kitchen is finally ready!

After our purchases we stopped for some food at Kelsey's where we found out they are having two-for-one appetizers throughout the summer. I love appetizers, so I felt like it was my birthday all over again. Needless to say I didn't order an entree.

And now the important stuff...

The winner of the Primele Personalized Stamp giveaway is

AZ in August

Congratulations!

Thank you to all of you who entered and
to Primele for supplying this fabulous prize!

Please contact me at sogni-e-sorrisi[at]hotmail[dot]com
with your shipping info.

I. Hate. Lineups. and a Giveaway Winner

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So here's the deal, I'm not exactly the world's most patient person. Truth be told there's not much I loathe more than waiting and lineups make me want to claw my eyes out. If I had a choice there would be very little I would actually line up for. I mean, other than a million dollars, not much springs to mind that would be worth the wait. Which is why I can't understand restaurants that deliberately try to provoke me by not taking reservations and encouraging block-long lines outside their doors.

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Case in point: Guu Izakaya. When some friends put the screws to me and forced me to accompany them recently, I insisted we go during the week as I've already heard stories about the long wait times (even with a sitting time limit of 2 hours). I had also heard raves about the restaurant so I figured that even if I ended up in my seat with bleeding eyes I would at least be compensated with some good eating. I wasn't disappointed. The food was good, reasonably priced and the atmosphere is lively. Portions are small, tapas-style, so great for ordering lots and sharing among dining partners. Still doesn't answer my question as to why the restaurant can't accept reservations--especially for large parties, although I do understand that it is a small place. And while our wait wasn't as long as some of the stories I've heard I doubt I will be going back if I have to face a line up again.

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Seems that several pizzerias in the city like Terroni and Pizzeria Libretto also buy into the no-reservation policy (although Terroni does make exceptions for certain areas at certain locations). Slightly frustrating, but at least with places like Libretto they will take your cell number and call you when a table opens up. I'm much more agreeable when my waiting is done at the bar across the street downing drinks rather than standing outside the restaurant like a fool. Maybe it's just me.

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You can imagine how happy I was to find out that the new offering from Libretto's team, Enoteca Sociale, does accept reservations for fifty-percent of their seating (which isn't much, the place is small but cozy). I've been twice now and I have to say that I enjoy it. The staff is super friendly and I like the tasting menu options (great for sharing and not feeling overstuffed). The arugula with veal sweetbread app I had on my latest visit was seriously amazing.

How do you feel about no-reservation restaurants?


On an unrelated note, Toronto peeps, have you eaten at Parts and Labour? I've only had drinks there, but I've heard mixed things about the food. Plus, I'm not a very adventurous eater. Menu items like "fried pigs face" and anything horse do nothing for me.
 If you've tried the food let me know what you thought.

And the winner of the Dear Colleen giveaway, chosen via random.org, is...

Mackenzie from Design Darling

Congrats Mackenzie!! Shoot me your shipping info via email when you can.

Check out Dear Colleen's store to score one of your own gorgeous prints:

A Great Pizza and a Glimpse into the Future...?

Last week while chilling at a street festival on College Street--after eating a really great tomato-and-mozzarella pizza at Vivoli (I've been many times, mainly for the rooftop patio, and I think this is the best dish I've had there, much better than the food I've sampled in the past)--we happened on a psychic/tarot card reader set up on the street. For some reason I was inspired and decided to get a reading despite M teasing me mercilessly.

I'm not entirely sure if I believe in these kinds of things. Truthfully, I think there probably are people with these types of gifts (I've heard of cases when psychics have been spot on and specific) and many who are fakes, mostly just gifted at generalizing and reading people. I have no idea if the woman who read my cards was the real deal, although considering what she told me I certainly hope she was (hearing what she said even had M changing his tune!)

I didn't actually ask any questions as I figure that's a way to tip your hand and made it easier to falsify a reading. I mean, you should tell me if there's anything important coming up--right? Anyway, a few books I've read lately have also included psychics and they just seem to be popping up here and there so I thought I'd ask the question:

Do you believe in psychics and/or mediums? Have you ever had someone predict something that ended up coming true?

{Photos via weheartit.com}

Happy Weekend & Five Questions

Hello lovelies, I hope you're all having a wonderful weekend. Remember to enter the Dr. Perricone giveaway if you haven't had a chance to yet. I was tagged by Melissa of Oh, My Darling to answer the following five questions:

1. What's for dinner tonight? I think we are heading to Enoteca Sociale for dinner tonight.

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2. What movie star would you choose to play you in a film of your life? See here.

3. What's your biggest fashion faux pas? I love flip flops and some of my pants are too long when I wear flats.

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4. Which song always puts you in a happy mood? There are many but the first that comes to mind is "Girls Just Want to Have Fun."

5. How crafty are you, and what has been your best project? I wish I was much more crafty than I am. I haven't actually attempted too many DIY projects. I did make my own wedding programs, which I thought turned out okay.

I'd like to tag anyone who wants to answer these questions!

 

 

 

"Weekends don't count unless you spend them doing something completely pointless." ~ Bill Watterson

 

 

 

Oh Louise! Giveaway Winner

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Hope you have all had a wonderful weekend. Mine has been pretty much non-stop, per usual, which is good as long as you don't put a premium on sleep. On Friday it was dinner and drinks with the girls at The Roosevelt Room, yesterday we took some out of town visitors to Terroni (if you're ever in Toronto a must try, in my opinion) and then, yes, drinks. Today was for the moms of course, breakfast with my in laws and then an early dinner with my family. The rest of the night has been pretty quiet, with M jetting off to his weekly soccer game with my dad and me, my mom, sister and grandmother watching Shutter Island. A very good movie, I thought. What did you do this weekend?

And now to the winner of the Oh! Louise stationary set...The Zhush. Congrats! A big thanks to Eleanor for participating in this giveaway and to all of you who entered. Stay tuned for a new giveaway to celebrate my having reached 200 followers! Happy Mother's Day!

Love It!: Urban Rose

Hope you all had amazing weekends. We were pretty busy these last few days with family obligations, but we managed to start looking for appliances. I know its early, but I'm just trying to sort out what I want and then go from there. We also went to Pizzeria Libretto, a must-try if you're ever in Toronto for great, authentic Napoletano pizza (the eat-it-with-a-fork-and-knife kind of pizza). No reservations and usually long wait times (which you can while away at a bar across the street), but worth it. Apparently they even imported a used pizza oven from Napoli. After pizza we headed for drinks at a bar on Ossington that recently opened and still has no sign and then on to Jezebel.

The perfect answer to the Mondays blues--and my statement necklace obsession--are these gorgeous creations from Etsy seller Rebecca3030's shop.

{Doesn't this just scream summer?! LOVE}

Stunning!

Thank you to the lovely Cashon and Company

 for this Happy 101 Award. If you haven't

yet, definitely check out her blog!

And a big thank you to Dawn at

The Alternative Wife for this amazing

You're Going Places, Baby award!

To accept this award I need to blog about where I want to be in 10 years...

I'd like to be doing a lot of what I'm doing now: happily married, blogging, dreaming up ways to decorate our house and make it a home. I'd also like to be a mother, a traveller, and surrounded by family and friends. Where would you like to be in 10 years?